After a one-year hiatus, the Orage Masters is back with a fresh course and a new venue. The fifth installment of the Masters will take place this coming Saturday, April 12 at Whistler Blackcomb, BC, part of this year's 13th annual Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival. The Masters will once again pit hardgoods manufacturers against one another in the battle for some of the best prizing of the year: including snowmobiles, surf trips, Wii's, and a whole bunch more all the way down to third place. And don't forget, legendary KISS bassist Gene Simmons will be on hand to dole out the goodies live on stage in Whistler Village on Saturday afternoon.

Perhaps the most important news however, is the tag team effort between Newschoolers, Orage and Tranzeo Wireless that will allow you watch the Masters from start to finish in the comfort of your own home. We'll be webcasting complete with live chat hosted on course by the one-and-only Mr. Doug Bishop. Keep checking back on NS and at OrageMasters.com for updated info on where to watch. For now, here's all you need to know about Masters 5:

All you need to know:

Live Webcast - April 12, 2008 - Live from an elevation where the internet is usually too scared to go, we're bringing you the full day of competition from the the base of Jersery Cream and Glacier Express chairlifts on Blackcomb Mountain. If you're unable to watch from the comfort of the Glacier Creek Lodge, you can click onto Newschoolers.com and OrageMasters.com for all the action. In order to view the stream you'll need a high speed internet connection as well as the Flash Player 9 plugin for your web browser.

Schedule: Webcast begins 10:00 am PST, Saturday April 12, 2008. That's 1:00 pm EST for all you East Coasters, and sometime in the evening for the Euros.

 

Team News - The teams have been set and the starting line-ups are already posted on OrageMasters.com This year, teams competing are:

4FRNT

Armada

Dynastar

K2

Rossignol

Salomon

Volkl

And due to some unfortunate injuries on the Line team, this year Surface Skis will be taking their place with skiers Blake Nyman, Paco Garcia, Jordan Seldin, and Kristie Giles ready to throw down on this years jib course.

 

Course Plan - Speaking of the course, we've got a snazzy new mock up of the features courtesy of the build crew which this year features TJ Schiller. Taking time off to heal an injured knee, TJ has been hard at work on the course concepts, and is now in Whistler making it all come to life. Check it out:

Click to Enlarge

 

Place Your Bets - In celebration of the return of Masters, Orage is giving away one TJ Pro Model Jacket to a lucky fan that can properly guess the winner of this years event. Visit OrageMasters.com for your chance to win!

 

That's all folks, see you Saturday live online from Whistler!

Newschoolers.com & OrageMasters.com For Full Details.